 | The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay |  |
OUR SWORDS ARE SHEATHED.
I
Our swords are sheathed,The flag droops idly down,
Our shields are laurel-wreathed—
There's peace in bower and town.
But should a foreign tyrant
Insult us where we stand,
121
And sweep them from the land.
Bless'd are our swords, if Justice
Have made them keen and strong,
But shame shall be their portion,
Who battle in the wrong.
II
Our fame and mightHave rung throughout the world,
And ever in the right
Our flag has been unfurl'd.
And if our foes, forgetful,
Should tempt our guardian wave,
We'll find for each, upon the beach,
Destruction and a grave.
So let them come!—we care not!
'Tis Freedom makes us strong;
And shame shall be their portion
Who battle in the wrong!
| The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay | |